Page 28 of The Chemistry Coach
He kept it together for the remainder of the drive.Daisy’s cell phone led them to a beautiful little cabin in the woods.As they unloaded the car, Connor couldn’t help but voice his concerns to Daisy.He lowered his voice, hoping to keep Valentine and Hazy out of it.“This seems dangerous.”
Daisy grabbed a duffel bag from the trunk and slung it over her shoulder.She frowned and asked, “What do you mean?”
He stole her bag from her and added it to his own load.Her obliviousness made him concerned about how well she protected herself day-to-day.
“You’re an unarmed woman fifteen miles outside the nearest town with three large men you don’t know well.”
She smiled at him, and it lit his soul on fire, as it did every time she directed positive attention his way.This girl could be addictive.“Who says I’m unarmed?”
He raised an eyebrow at her.“Are you armed?”
She gathered the last few grocery bags and closed the trunk.“Well, no.But I could be.”
“What if we wanted to hurt you?It would be too easy.”
“Do you want to hurt me?”
“No, Daisy.Of course I don’t fucking want to hurt you.”
“Then I’m probably safe.”
“Nobody is going to admit they intend to hurt you.That would be insane.”
Daisy used her free hand to point out some security cameras to him.“Connor.I’m going to be fine.My family owns this place.They know where I am and who I’m with.My best friend and my brother both have access to my location.The property has security cameras.You guys are public figures; if you did pull something, my friends would be smearing your names so far across the internet you would never come back from it.And I trust all of you not to do anything stupid.”
He could see her point, but remained uneasy.It should be way too early in their acquaintance for her to trust them enough to join them alone at a cabin in the woods.But he didn’t push farther.His experience with Sarah told him that if he pushed too far, she would assume he thought her incapable of making her own decisions.
She’d tasked them with choosing bedrooms while she set up dinner.Connor had tried to argue, but she told him he would be in the way.Instead, he followed after Hazy and Lover, who carried the luggage.Lover dropped his bag in a room with a twin bed and shuffled down the hallway with the remaining duffle.Hazy dropped his bag onto the bed in the next room.They gave themselves a quick tour as they went.There were two rooms left upstairs.They opened the next door to a bathroom.Hopefully, the last room had bunk beds.
It did not.The cabin had three beds.There were four people.Obviously, Daisy would get her own.
Well,hehad thought it obvious.But Hazy and Lover seemed unfazed as they dumped both remaining bags in the room with a king bed.He restrained himself from smacking the closest man upside the head.
“Uh-uh.Don’t even think it.We aren’t putting her in that position.She’s the only woman, and she barely knows us.She should not have to ask for her own bed.”
Connor wanted to wipe the smirk off Hazy’s face.“Damn, Dad.Don’t worry about it.We’ll bunk in here.You can have the twin and leave the other room for Daisy.We haven’t unpacked.We can switch the bags.”
“Good.”For some reason, Connor had anticipated an argument.He let his hackles down.“Switch them now, please.”
When they got downstairs to get their next task from Daisy, they found her searching the grocery bags she’d brought in.She looked up from her task, relief crossing her features.
“Can one of you go check if there’s pizza sauce in the car?Maybe it rolled under the seat?”
Lover grabbed the car keys off the table.“No problem.Be right back.”
“Awesome, thanks!You two, wash your hands.You can help me grate some cheese and prep the toppings.”She seemed at home in the kitchen.
While she rolled out pizza dough, Connor got to work grating a huge block of mozzarella.Hazy had dumped a pound of Italian sausage into a frying pan when Lover came inside empty-handed.
“No pizza sauce.Backup plan?”
Daisy looked skyward and groaned.“Have any of you ever stretched pizza dough?”
Hazy watched over her shoulder as she stretched a piece of dough and laid it flat on the counter.“Not like that.I could use a rolling pin.”
“You can’t use a rolling pin, you heathen.It’s pizza dough.It needs to be lovingly worked, not forced into submission.”
Lover smirked at her.“Have a lot of expertise on submission, huh?”
